In the
United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
House of Representatives and is presented to the President for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal difference between a joint
resolution and a
bill. Both must be passed, in exactly the same form, by both chambers of Congress, and signed by the President (or, re-passed in override of a presidential
veto; or, remain unsigned for ten days while Congress is in session) to become a law. Only joint resolutions may be used to propose amendments to the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
and these do not require the approval of the President. Laws enacted by joint resolutions are not distinguished from laws enacted by bills, except that they are designated as resolutions as opposed to
Acts of Congress (see for example
War Powers Resolution).
While either a bill or joint resolution can be used to create a law, the two generally have different purposes. Bills are generally used to add, repeal, or amend laws codified in the
United States Code
In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
or ''
Statutes at Large
''Statutes at Large'' is the name given to published collections or series of legislative Acts in a number of jurisdictions.
The expression "statutes at large" was first used in the edition of Barker published in 1587.
England and Great Britain ...
'', and provide policy and program authorizations. Regular annual appropriations are enacted through bills. Conversely, joint resolutions generally are vehicles for purposes such as the following:
*Authorizing small appropriations
*For
continuing resolutions, which extend appropriation levels adopted in a prior fiscal year, when one or more of the annual appropriations acts have been temporarily delayed from becoming law on time
*Creating temporary commissions or other
ad hoc bodies (e.g., the
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...
)
*Creating temporary exceptions to existing law, such as joint resolutions providing a day other than January 6 for counting
electoral votes or providing for a
Saxbe fix reducing the pay of an office so that a member of Congress may avoid the
Ineligibility Clause
*Declaring war
*Terminating national emergency declarations
*Amending the Constitution of the United States
*Annexing sovereign nation-states
See also
*
Bill (law)
*
Concurrent resolution
*
Procedures of the United States Congress
Procedures of the United States Congress are established ways of doing legislative business. Congress has two-year terms with one session each year. There are rules and procedures, often complex, which guide how it converts ideas for legislation ...
*
Resolution (law)
*
Simple resolution
*
United States Congress#Bills and resolutions
References
External links
{{United States Congress
Legislative branch of the United States government
Resolutions (law)